Aman Ullah vs The State
The petitioner sought post-arrest bail in FIR No. 176/06 registered under Section 489-F of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 at Police Station Sargodha Gantt., relating to the dishonor of a cheque issued for an amount of Rs. 55 lacs. The core legal question was whether the petitioner was entitled to post-arrest bail for an offense not falling within the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. The Lahore High Court held that since the maximum punishment for the offense under Section 489-F does not exceed three years, the case does not fall within the prohibitory clause of Section 497, and considering the circumstances of the case including the delay and lack of immediate effort by the complainant, the bail application should be granted. The key principle laid down is that bail in offenses not covered by the prohibitory clause of Section 497, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, should generally be allowed unless exceptional circumstances are established.
- Is an offense under Section 489-F of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 covered by the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898?
- Should post-arrest bail be granted when the maximum punishment for the alleged offense does not fall within the prohibitory clause?
- Section 489-F, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 497, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
ORDER
SYED SHABBAR RAZA RIZVI, J.- The petitioner seeks post arrest bail in FIR No. 176/06, dated 18.5.2006, .
Registered at P.S. Sargodha Gantt., under Section 489-F, PPC.
2. Briefly, according to the FIR, the petitioner obtained Rs. 55 lacs from the complainant and issued a cheque No. 730652 to return the said amount on 25.4.2004. However, when the cheque was presented to the bank on^ 16.12.2004, the same was dishonoured.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner contends that FIR was registered after a delay of two years.
He submits that the complainant had financial dealings with Rana Khalid Mehmood, an employer of Agricultural Bank. Said Rana Khalid Mehmood obtained a blank Cheque from the petitioner which he forwarded to the complainant as a guarantor. The amount was incorporated by the complainant himself in the Cheque. He further submits that in any case the petitioner was arrested on 2.6.2006 and ever since he has been behind the bars. The learned counsel adds that the offence is not covered by the prohibitory clause of Section 497, Cr.P.C. The Hon'ble Supreme Court of Pakistan in PLD 1995 SC 34 held that bail application in offences not covered by the prohibitory clause should - be allowed unless four exceptions mentioned therein are found in a particular case. According to him, the present case does not fall within the exceptions mentioned by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the above-cited case.
4. On the other hand, the learned counsel for the complainant has submitted an Iqrar Nama which has been signed by the petitioner besides others and the same Iqrar Nama contains a clause under which petitioner accepts the liability, the subject-matter of the FIR. According to him, the signatures and issuance of cheque has not been denied by the complainant, therefore, the bail application should not be allowed.
5. The learned counsel for the State endorses the contentions of the learned counsel for the complainant and submits that during the investigation the petitioner has .Been found guilty hence challaned accordingly.
6. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties, It is correct that maximum punishment- for offence under Section 489-F is not more than three years, therefore, the present case is not covered by prohibition contained in Section 497, Cr.P.C. The FIR does not indicate that for what purpose Rs. 55 lacs were given to the petitioner by the complainant. The FIR also does not show any effort on behalf of the complainant for seeking the return of the said amount. Anyway, without, going further into details and in view of the above reasons, this bail application is allowed subject to petitioner's furnishing surety bonds in the sum of Rs. 60 lacs (sixty lacs) with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Trial Court or Illaqa Magistrate.